The Penultimate Peril Quotes

“I suppose I'll have to add the force of gravity to my list of enemies.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“The burning of a book is a sad, sad sight, for even though a book is nothing but ink and paper, it feels as if the ideas contained in the book are disappearing as the pages turn to ashes and the cover and binding--which is the term for the stitching and glue that holds the pages together--blacken and curl as the flames do their wicked work. When someone is burning a book, they are showing utter contempt for all of the thinking that produced its ideas, all of the labor that went into its words and sentences, and all of the trouble that befell the author . . .”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“As I am sure you know, when people say 'It's my pleasure,' they usually mean something along the lines of, 'There's nothing on Earth I would rather do less.' [...]”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“One can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Neither were you [born yesterday], unless of course I am wrong, in which case welcome to the world, little baby, and congratulations on learning to read so early in life. ”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Deciding whether or not to trust a person is like deciding whether or not to climb a tree because you might get a wonderful view from the highest branch or you might simply get covered in sap and for this reason many people choose to spend their time alone and indoors where it is harder to get a splinter.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“In a world too often governed by corruption and arrogance, it can be difficult to stay true to one’s philosophical and literary principles.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“But the three siblings were not born yesterday. Violet was born more than fifteen years before this particular Wednesday, and Klaus was born approximately two years after that, and even Sunny who had just passed out of babyhood, was not born yesterday. Neither were you, unless of course I am wrong, in which case, welcome to the world, little baby, and congratulations on learning to read so early in life.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Off with you" is a phrase used by people who lack the curtesy to say something more polite, such as, "if there's nothing else you require I must be going" or "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to leave, please" or even "excuse me but I believe you have mistaken my home for your own and my valuable belongings for yours and I must ask you to return the items in question to me and leave my home after untying me from this chair, as I'm unable to do it myself, if it's not too much trouble.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“The hallway was lined with numbered doors, odd numbers on one side and even numbers on the other, and large ornamental vases, too large to hold flowers and too small to hold spies.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Blinded following the Blindfolded”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“The last safe place is safe no more.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“It is very difficult to make one's way in this world without being wicked at one time or another, when the world's way is so wicked to being with.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“But we can also ask for something we are much more likely to get, and that is to find a person or two, somewhere in our travels, who will tell us that we are noble enough, whether it is true or not. We can ask for someone who will say, “You are noble enough,” and remind us of our good qualities when we have forgotten them, or cast them into doubt.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“There are some who say that you should forgive everyone, even the people who
have disappointed you immeasurably. There are others who say you should not forgive anyone, and should stomp off in a huff no matter how many times they apologize.
Of these two philosophies, the second one is of course much more fun, but it can also grow exhausting to stomp off in a huff every time someone has disappointed you, as everyone disappoints everyone eventually, and one can’t stomp off in a huff every minute of the day.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Wicked people never have time for reading,” Dewey said. “It's one of the reasons for their wickedness.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“You’re noble enough, Baudelaires. That’s all we can ask for in this world.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Some people think destiny is something you cannot escape, such as death or a curdled cheesecake, both of which always turn up sooner or later.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Tell me what it is, or prepare to eat harpoon.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Are you who I think you are?”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“A great man once said that right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Tea should be bitter as wormwood and as sharp as a two-edged sword.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Deciding on a safe answer to a question is like deciding on a safe ingredient in a sandwich, because if you make the wrong decisions you may find that something horrible is coming out of your mouth.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“...Calling a person 'sir' can often help you get what you want, unless of course the person is a woman.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“...If only one had a little more time to do some important reading, all the secrets in the world would become clear.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“To be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless; to forgo even ambition when the end is gained—who can say this is not greatness?”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“It is very difficult to make one's way in this world without being wicked at one time or another, when the world's way is so wicked to begin with.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“Everyone wears blindfolds at a High Court trial," the manager replied, "except the judges, of course. Haven't you heard the expression justice is blind?"

"Yes," Klaus said, "but I always thought it meant that justice should be fair and unprejudiced."

"The verdict of the High Court was to take the expression literally," said the manager. "So everyone except the judges must cover their eyes before the trial can begin."

"Scalia," Sunny said. She meant something like, "It doesn't seem like the literal interpretation makes any sense," but her siblings did not think it was wise to translate.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“For Beatrice-
No one could extinguish my love,
or your house.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

“In general, of course, a stranger who tries to get you into an automobile is anything but noble, and in general a person who quotes great American novelists is anything but treacherous, and in general a man who says you needn't worry about money, or a man who smokes cigarettes, is somewhere in between.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril